Multiple barrel gun



June 13, 1944. c. G. FORMHALS 2,351,257

MULTIPLE BARREL GUN Filed lay 13. 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented June 13, 1944 ATENT OFFICE MULTIPLE @{HQREL GUN Calvin G. Formhals, Smithfield, Ill.

Application May 13, 1941, Serial No. 393,251

3 Claims. tCl. 89-1) such illustration and description constitutes a This invention relates generally to the class of ordnance and pertains particularly to improvements in rapid fire guns.

A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved multi-barrel gun designed for rapid fire in which a novel method of successively firing the several barrels of the gun is provided.

.Another object of the invention is to provide a multi-barrel rapid fire gun wherein a single firing charge is employed to ignite a multiplicity of powder charges, each of which is contained in a projectile shell, the said projectile shells being provided only with the powder charge and, not having the customary primer employed where a firing pin is made use of.

HA further and more specific object of the invention is to provide in a multi-barrel gun a rapid fire means comprising a cartridge carrier having a fire chamber formed therein which is in communication with the primer openings of the shells for the several barrels, the said fire chamber having connected with one end thereof a blank cartridge which, when fired, causes a flame to pass through the fire chamber to suecessively ignite the charges of the several cartridges in communication with such chamber.

Another object is to provide a multi-cylinder gun having a removable magazine carrying a plurality of cartridges and adapted to be placed in position with respect to the barrels or cylinders of the gun so that each cartridge will be directed toward a barrel and having a unit adapted to be secured over the magazine unit and provided with a single fire chamber through which an ignition flame is caused to pass and with means for. leadingsuch flame from the chamber to the cartridges whereby such cartridges may be fired successively as the flame passes through the chamber.

Still another object is to provide a multi-barrel gun having a removable magazine carrying a pinrality of cartridges, each of which is introduced into a barrel when the magazine is set in operative position, with novel means for forcing the magazine into operative position and holding it in such position during the firing of the cartridges.

The invention will be best understood from a consideration of the following detailed description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, it being understood, however, that theinvention is not to be considered as limited by the specific illustration or description but that preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in top plan of a two-unit multi-barrel gun constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken substantially on r the line 2-2 of Fig. 1 through one of the units showing only the outer annular series of barrels.

. Fig. 3 is a view in side elevation of the gun structure shown in Fig. 1, illustrating the operationof the firing device.

Fig. 4 is a view in elevation of the opposite side of the gun shown in Fig, 1, showing the reverse operation of the firing device.

Fig. 5 is a view looking into the face of the firing block which forms a unit of the magazine structure.

Fig. 6 is a detailed sectional view on an enlarged scale of the firing pin and firing cartridge carrier showing the manner in which the cartridge is secured in the carrier.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 of the firing pin and firing cartridge carrier or unit showing the carrier applied to its supporting tube on the filing block.

Fig. 8 is a View on an enlarged scale and in section of the closing means for the firing tube.

v Fig. 9 is a detailed sectional view taken on the line 99 of Fig. 5, and illustrating the control valve for the fire passage of the firing block.

Fig. 10 is a view in plan of another form of the multi-barrel gun structure in which all of the barrels are disposed in one plane.

Fig. 11 is a detailed sectional view of the magazine for the gun as shown in Fig. 10, illustrating a manner of securing the cartridges to the body of the magazine.

, Referring now more particularly to the drawings, there is illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4, an embodiment of the present invention wherein rifle or gun barrels are maintained in a cylindrical group, thus forminga gun unit which is indicated as a whole by the numeral I, in which the 1 barrels have a spiral arrangement. Any number of barrels may .be used to make up a unit and any number of units may be mounted in side by side relation or one above the other, upon a suitable support or carriage, not shown, which may bedesired. In Fig. 1, two multiple barrel units are shown disposed in spaced parallel relation and these are of the same construction or design, therefore, a description of one will suflice for both. I v

' rel 5.

; rels.

breech through brace. plates 6 which maintain;

In accordance with the present invention, a unit I comprises a breech 2 which is here shown as being in the 'form of a circular body of material. V of passages or bores 3' extending axially therethrough and with a central bore 4, each of the the barrels in the proper spaced relation and through the center of each of the plates there 'is' extends through the passage 4 in the center of of the breech, as shown in Fig. 2. The seyeral; I

barrels may be arranged in parallel relation or certain of the central ones :may'be. parallel and This breech is provided with a plurality is; passed a tie bolt or rod 1, the rearend-of which position against the rear face of the breech, there is then applied againstthe rearside of the magazine block the firing block, which is indicated generally by-the numeral 22. 'This firing block also carriesa centering pin 23 which engages in the rear end of the centering bore 20 of the magazine blocks and the firing block has a central passage 2A for the reception of the sleeve l8 and tie rod 1. There is then'applied to the threaded end oirthe sleeve It a securing nut 25 which draws the" magazine block and firing block together and a nut 26 is then applied to the threaded rear end of the tie rod I which, When tight- J ened up onthe rod, forces the breech magaZine 7' and firing blocks tightly into cooperative relation. This-nut 25 may be provided with a wheel A H I I or With spokes 21 to facilitate its rotation so that the breech and a substantial distance'rearwardly the others may be given a very slight, outward ing of the gun to fire in a" desired directionjsuch a support being here conventionally illustrated'g j and indicated generally by the numeral 8 and having pivotally mounted thereon a platform 9 supporting a suitable number-of horizontal rods I0. Guides ll carried by' the-"gun unitsare supported upon the rods H1 and theforward and rearward movements of the gun are controlled b'y springs 12, as showninFig 2,- so that recoil will be properly takenoars-or. previously stated, the means for mounting the gun'and the recoil mechanismmay be of any desirable-or suitable character, such mechanism-forming no part of the present inventioii. 1 '2 l a The passages 3 of-th'e breech body constitute not only means for receiving the" rear ends of the barrels but cartridge=chambers carried by-a magazine block-l3i- This block-'is'of the'same' 'overall dimensions as the breech 2 against the it may be turned tightly into position;

. Integral with the firing block 22 there is formed the peripheral flange 28 which encircles a'portion of the. magazineblock, as shown inl Fig. 2, r and functions to seal the opposingfaces of the magazine and firing blocks to prevent the escape of the burnin gases from between these'bodies.

"Formed inthe firingblock 22 aroundthecen-T tral aperture'24 thereof is a spiral flame chami This. exhaust opening has. threaded i thereinto a valve plug 31 which is provided with a central passage 32. The size of the passage of the valve 1 plug '3'l-is governed by the caliber of, the shells or cartridges used inthe gun and the degree of rapidity with which the firing flame passes through thespiral chamber 29 to the exhaust is controlled by. the size of the passageithrou'gh the valve plug. This valve plug opens toward:

. tion'to guide the passage of the projectiles which g are discharged from the'cartridges. 1 f t? The, outer end'; of the spiral flamechamber 29' "fitteda cartridgelfi having a-powder 'charge but? 7 inthe b0re 20f' The-'niagazine sleeve I8 is slipped onto the'rear endof-fthejtie rod 1 andwhen the centering bore' 2ll receives the L pin 2| of the adjacentbreech, thecartridges will no primer. The primer" opening in'the ;base ofeach cartridge is indicatedby {the numeral l6 powder charge The central par which extends a sleeve [8, the reaif'iendpithe sleeve being screwithre'adedj as indicated at-1 9;

V This sleeve receives the rear enfd of the' 'tie rod 1 andhas its forwardendfitted into ithe rear'partf of the central passage l of thebreechfl The magazine blockl 3 is {provided wit a dummy barrel 33 which functions merelyto carry off the exhaust gases while the other bar-i rel's, indicatedby the numeral 5, of course, func-fl is directed radially outwardly through the side of the firing blank and has connectedith'erewith is v .g 'forwardl asshown inFi 4, accordin' .towhich and provides a means forthe introductionof the y g g unit carries a centering pin 21 for -engagementblock-13 with the be 'alined' for introduction-into the cartridgechambers 3-ofthe fbreecl'ifblock;"fas town- 1 Fig. 2.

of the. two units .the magazine block and firing s blockfis.=applied.' V Extending axially of thegfirin g block fromthefiameschambe'r'i.29 Tare small passages 35,; each of whichris idirec ted;lnto 60. the;primer opening l6 ofa cartridge. BYimeans cartridges;

tering bore rjoonjtenog "bofesn which opens".

cap-tt'havingat it'sfouterlend a guide 311.] This f firing pin unit hasidisposedwithin the 'cap pon-i V tion 36, a two-pronged head 38, each of the'firlng' prongs being indicated by the numeral 39 -a'nd of these axial passages 35, flame from thepflames cham 9, e era 'e 'int ma ne eina ter described,; ignites the The holder 34. designed to; itsfree outer endv afiring pin .unit, ,comprisinglar arranged so "that-the rim of a firing b1ank' oar After the magazine block -has be'en placed in =p which Slides l n'8ui d 31 and l through the. ratinma;

owde scha esqgof, the 1 y projects from this guide when the unit is threaded onto the'end of a holder 34 in the manner shown in Fig. 7. i

The blank cartridge 40 is held in any suitable manner within the cap portion 36 of the firing pin unit sothat these units can be supplied separately from the firing blocks which would have the ends of the holders 34 closed by caps 42- until the gun is ready to be fired. The caps 42 are then removed I and each holder has a firing pin unit threadably applied thereto and in this operation the blank'cartridge 4ll-is pushedback against the head; as shown in Fig; 7, so as to extend the rear end of the firing pin from its guideand into a position whereit can be struck by a suitable hammer.

At one side of each unit I, there is pivotally supported a pulley "43- with which is integrally connected the hammer arm 44 having pivoted to its outer end; as at 45, a firing hammer 46. In the two-unit structure shown in Fig. 1, one of these hammer arms is arranged to swing upwardly while the other one is arranged so that the hammer will swing from a raised position downwardly, as shownin Figs. 3 and 4. Since the magazine blocks =and firingblocks may be used upon any gun unit, it will be readily seen that it is necessary'that when the blocks are applied to a unit upon one side of the group shown in Fig. 1, for the firing pin unit to extend upwardly and when applied to the'other side or gun unit,

forthe firing pin to extend downwardly since it is necessary thatthe blocks be inverted in order to prevent the-firingpins from being located between the gun unit's instead of upon the outer sides as is necessaryto enable the hammer to be used thereon. It is for this reason that the centering pins 2| and 23 are employed and in a two-unit gun structure, as shown in Fig. 1, the pins 2| of the breech block would be at the top of the block for one unit and at the bottom of the block for the other unit, thus making it necessary for the attendant of the gun to turn the magazine and firing blocks to the proper positions to bring the firing pins upon the outer sides thereof before the blocks can be placed in position for firing.

Each hammer arm carries a spring 41 which engages the adjacent hammer 45 upon the side opposite from the firing pin unit and each pulley connected with a hammer arm has attached thereto and partly wrapped therearound, a lanyard 48 whereby the gunner may swing the hammer arm so as to bring the hammer into contact with the firing pin 4| to effect the firing of the blank cartridge.

By the provision of the hammer spring 41, it will be seen that the arm can be made to swing with considerable force so as to insure the application of the necessary impact to the firing pin, without danger of damaging the firing pin unit holder 34, since the spring will permit the hammer 46 to yield.

It will be readily apparent from the foregoing that after a magazine block carrying a number of cartridges has been placed in firing position and a firing block has been secured against the back of the magazine block, when the hammer is brought into forcible contact with the firing pin 4|, the blank cartridge 40 will be fired and the flame and hot gases thus produced will travel through the spiral flame chamber to the exhaust port 32. By providing the necessary resistance to the rapid escape of the flame of the burning gases from the flame chamber 29 through the selection of a valve 3| having a passage therethrough of suitable size, the burning gases will find their way through the axially directed passages 35 to the primer openings of the cartridges and will thus ignite the charges to produce a successive firing of the shells starting from the outer end of the spiral chamber and working toward the inner end where the exhaust valve 3| is located. In this mannerthere is produced an effective rapid fire gun which is made to operate by the operation of but a single firing hammer. After the gun has been fired, the magazine block can be removed and a new block substituted for a second round of firing.

Fig. 10 illustrates a slight modification of the structure shown in Figs. 1 and 2, although the principle employed for firing successively a number of cartridges is the same. In this arrangement, a plurality of barrels 49 are secured in a suitable manner in spaced subs'tantially 'parallel relation in a common plane, the supporting frame being here generally indicated by the numeral 50. Extending in spaced relation with the rear or breech ends of the barrels 49 is a breech block 5|. The numeral 52 designates a magazine unit comprising a bar 53 through which is formed longitudinally a straight flame chamber 54 having at spaced intervals, corresponding with the number of barrels 49, the flame escape passages 55 which correspond to the passages 35 of the firing block 22. At one end of the bar 5 3, an exhaust controlling valve 56 issecured'in the passage 54, this valve having the reduced bore 51 therethrough and functioning in the same manner as the valve 3|, while at the opposite end of the bar 53 is a firing pin unit holder 58 of the same form as the holder 34 and adapted to receive a firing pin unit, such as is shown in Figs. 6 and 7.

The bar 53 is provided with the transversely extending dove-tail channels 59 and in these channels are fitted the bases of cartridge casings 60, which are without primers so that each casing has an opening leading thereinto from the adjacent passage 55, whereby an igniting flame can enter the casing to set off the firing charge therein.

This elongated magazine unit 52 from the bar portion 53 of which the cartridges project in spaced parallel relation and all in the same direction, is adapted to be placed across the breech ends of the barrels 49 with each cartridge extended partway into a barrel, as shown in Fig. 10. There is then inserted between the magazine and the breech block 5|, a wedge bar 6| which forces the shells home in the breeches of the barrels. Thus it will be seen that when the firing blank cartridge carried by the carrier 58 is set ed, the burning gases therefrom will rush through the flame chamber 54 and being restricted in their escape by the valve 56, will pass laterally through the passages 55, so as to ignite the charges of the cartridges, thus setting ofi the cartridges successively from one end of the magazine to the other.

While an illustration has been made of means for holding a blank cartridge to be employed for igniting the charges in the various shells carried by the magazines of the two forms of the gun here illustrated and described, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be considered as limited to this specific means of firing the shells, as it will be readily obvious to those versed in the art that the charges may be fired or ig- I having an 'xp osiyeich'a'rge the nitediby electricity,- .gas-irorzcheinicals' as well as I byxthe use ofzpowder.

' aicartridee prim r openin 4 tu u a firin -bin 1.;A multi-barrel gun, ;coxn1orisingla phiralitir of barrels, cartridgesi for said barrels each inclnd: ing a-g-casing carrying an explosive charge and aprimertopeningcin; -itsqrear?end; a bodmdisposed againstqtherearends ofvthe cartridges and hav; ing j a :flame chamber-formed therethrough and extendingv across theV,end's -,=of; the cartridges and further, having lateral passages leading fromithe' flame -:chamb er each-toward ancartridgej primer opening; means for supportingrsablank cartridge, at one end of said chamher,-; means iorrninggan exhaust; p or.t;;at: thegopposite: end 1 of the; chamber, .andwmeans orfi me Said blank. rtrid where yit e n g :g s s t fr m wil mass, hrouent er h m e ia dthro h said passages i I0 ign e; t e c a ge f th c t d e a d Vex:

l t; P ioo p s n ;a.-r m0va 1e Plus1 a e..

' estrict d e hau -o en "th tei rpu h 11:11. 411il ameter or which contr'ols the vdegree of rapidity with which thebnrninggases bassed thronghg the e of h fei ace ecs nbem m r s-t ingia b eech-block a plurality oi rifle barrels se-,

- and in:fix a's cedre t onwith the b e rends unitxcarrierconnectedjwithpne endof said flame chamber, means formingan exhaustggas escape control ;at .thegother end' of the'charnber, a fir- 7 ing pin unit .securedto said-carrier and carrying a plank; icartridgedirec ted into 1thetubular car.- rier, iagfiring pin; disposed against the baseof the cartridge, and means .for ,firingksaid blank cart e-' i A.-.;mu t -.batre 'run, mp i in fip u a ity f. harreIssupnOrtQd in n wlane'rand' ch-haw inesa breechen rab ee h lqlookextend n ac ss Oi'zt barr ls; a ba membe iadant d: to e tend i a --1 .the z eechaendsf f; e barrels; nd have: 7 ing aflame passage formed longitudinally there-g 1 h ou h id. flame -passa etihavin 'p urali ynf a er l .pa co r p nd n .iny'pumber with said barrels andadapted toibe ali ned, therewith,

cured in "said breech block andope ningat one end therethrongh} 'a A removable magazine: block" dis posed, against the fbree'ch block and.- earrying a primer o eni'na a ifiring blockfpo s m azine b fe diwvfi g h i arefiqs of said: casings, said'rfi ng'block havingfa flame chamber extending therethi oligh and across, theendsjof the cartridges; afplnrality (if-lateral pas sages leading flQllhtllg flame chamber each into.

movement of, thexburning gases :from cartridgethrougnthegflamepassage; 3 g

' 1.,CALVINIG FORMHALS.';=

cartridges corresponding. ininumber to the .bar;- e ecured, to itsaida bar 'andi each i cl n casing carrying an; explosive-{charge and. having a-pr-imer opening, alined withone oi said lateral passages; said cartridges being spaced ffor intro-j duotion ;into thee breeches;of said barrels, a longitudinally t redwedgieana p ed t be longitudinallyinserfifl'ibetweenv said first bar and 7 said loreech block-g to force said cartridges into the fixed breech ends of the barrels; mansat one end of said flame passagefor supporting ablanl; cartridge imposition to 1 have its firing charge discharged into the flame passagefmeans'for setting" oir s'aid blank cartridge-and "means at the opposite end ofgthe flame passage controlling the the blank- 

